The Colombian justice system took a decisive turn this Monday, February 9, by formally filing the hearing to bring charges against Ricardo Roa, current president of Ecopetrol.

The senior official, who served as manager of the “Petro Presidente” campaign in 2022, is the first major person involved in criminally responding to the scandal of alleged violation of electoral limits that has surrounded the Executive for years.

The decision, made by the Anti-Corruption Directorate of the Attorney General’s Office, marks a milestone in the investigations into the transparency of the resources that brought the current president to the Casa de Nariño.

According to the sources of the accusing body, Ricardo Roa’s responsibility lies in his role as the maximum organizer of spending during the electoral contest. Apparently, the manager had not maintained strict control of the campaign’s accounting documents, allowing the financial limits permitted by law to be exceeded.

This investigation adds to those already underway against other high profiles, such as the current Minister of Health, Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, who also remains under scrutiny for the management of electoral accounts in different regions of the country.

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However, the judicial problems for the president of the state oil company do not end there. The Prosecutor’s Office will also file charges related to the purchase of a luxurious apartment in Bogotá.

According to the investigations, Roa would have acquired the property under an irregular agreement that sought to favor the retired Colonel of the Police, Juan Guillermo Mancera, with millionaire agreements within Ecopetrol once Roa assumed the presidency of the company. This chapter of alleged influence peddling and private corruption was uncovered after rigorous monitoring of Mancera’s financial movements.

Despite the seriousness of the crimes that will be attributed to him for his management of the campaign and his personal businesses, sources close to the process confirmed that, for the moment, a custodial security measure will not be requested against the manager.

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